


The Beifong Academy for Gifted Youths

by mrooke



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Aang is 14 so that this works, Air Nomads are not extinct, But they have a low population, F/F, F/M, Highschool AU, M/M, Mai and Zuko are gay but dating, Modern Day, Partially Blind Zuko (Avatar), Partially Deaf Zuko (Avatar), Past War, jet is sokka's bisexual awakening, most chapters will be sokka focused (soz not soz), sokka has no idea how he made it here, this is a very prestigious academy, zukka - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-18
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 02:33:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28147644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrooke/pseuds/mrooke
Summary: "The Beifong Academy for Gifted Youths is a prestigious academy, located in Ba Sing Se, that accepts only the most talented children. We offer a variety of classes designed to strengthen your child's talents and enrich their culture. They can choose any of our many extracurriculars to improve their skills outside of bending, and will also be educated on the history of the four nations as well as on math, science, and language.Send your child to BAGY. Opportunity awaits!(Now accepting non-benders)"
Relationships: Aang/Katara (Avatar), Azula/Ty Lee (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 32
Kudos: 59





	1. Chapter One

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to this fun never done before ATLA AU.  
> Feel free to comment suggestions, questions, and/or tips! Enjoy!

Sokka stepped out of the cab and gazed up at the building before him, trying not to look absolutely astounded. His sister, Katara, walks up to him, shoving a bag into his hands.

“I’m not grabbing all your stuff, Sokka!” she says as she stomps back towards the cab.

He rolls his eyes, “I was just admiring the view, is that a crime?”

“You look like an idiot,” she snaps, “fix your tie”

Sokka sighs and sets the bag on the ground. His tie was perfectly fine, what was Katara on about?

She looks at him and sighs, “Spirits, Sokka! Do I have to do everything for you?”  
She walks over to him, reaches up and straightens his tie.

“Katara!” Sokka whines, his face heating with embarrassment.

“I wouldn’t have to do this if you knew how to tie a tie. How are you ever going to get by without me?” she says as she grabs her bags.

Sokka just rolls his eyes again, not wanting to think about that. Of course they were going to the same school but they would never get to see each other. She would be dorming in a different building, taking completely different classes....would they even be able to eat dinner together?

“Sokka?” Katara says, snapping Sokka out of his thoughts.

“Hmm?” he replies looking at her.

“Sokka! You weren’t listening to any of that?”

He almost thinks about lying to her, “Sorry..”

“It's fine,” she replies, clearly bothered by it, “Where do you need to go?”

“That is an excellent question!” he replies, searching his pockets for the letter he got from the school with his housing unit and room number, “I know I put it here somewhere..”

“Didn’t you take a picture of it?” Katata reminds him, grabbing his elbow to keep him from walking into the side of a large, stone building.  
He smiles at her, not even realizing he almost embarrassed himself for the second time since his arrival, “Right, yeah, thank you.”

“Seriously,” she says jokingly, “what are you gonna do without me?”

Sokka shrugs and pulls out his phone, searching his camera roll for the picture of the letter.  
“Yes! Okay building...four. Room 218.” He says as he starts scanning the impossibly large campus for the housing buildings, “I wish they would give us a map of this place...should I make a map?”

“You absolutely, 100 percent, should not make a map,” Katara replies, looking up at her brother.

“Why not? It could be useful!”

“No, it could be a distracting side project you’ll stay up all night working on. Sokka please promise me you’re not gonna make a map of this place.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” he says dismissively, not really taking his little sister’s demands to heart.

She groans, “Spirits, I hope your roommate has the common sense to force you to study. Or do anything productive, really.”

“Katara, I can take care of myself. I’m not completely hopeless without you,” he retorts, cringing slightly at his own tone, knowing being defensive about this only makes it sound like he is completely hopeless without her.

Katara suddenly stops, looking at a rather tall building with a welcome banner above the front doors, “This is my stop.”

Sokka offers her a sad smile, really wishing he hadn’t almost caused an argument two seconds prior, “Oh, alright...well good luck. Call me if you need anything!”

She smiles back, not as emotionally as Sokka had hoped, “Call me if you get lost.”

He laughs slightly, hoping to mask his hurt pride, “Alright. Love you.”

“Love you too, Sokka.” 

And then he was alone.

He didn’t wait outside Katara’s building for long, thinking it might be weird for a Junior boy to be standing outside the Freshman dorms.  
Sokka figured his building shouldn’t be too far and they would probably go in year order since that just made the most logical sense. So he started walking, absentmindedly, towards the next set of buildings.

The thing about walking is that you have to pay attention to where you’re going, or you walk into things.  
Or people.

Before Sokka knew what had happened he was losing his balance, clutching his bag with both hands as he prayed to Tui and La he wouldn’t fall over.

The boy he had run into turned around with such anger, Sokka almost feared for his safety.

He was definitely older, taller too, his long black hair tied in a half-bun on the top of his head.  
Then he noticed the scar. How was it not the first thing he saw when looking at this stranger?

“Watch where you’re going, Freshman.” the boy spits in a low, gruff voice.

“Actually, I’m not a Freshman…” Sokka replies, wondering why he even feels the need to defend himself to this asshole. But seriously, how could this guy possibly think he was fourteen? He had to look older than that, right?

“Did I ask?”

“Well, no…”

“Just stop talking to me, I don’t have time for this.” the boy mumbles as he turns, walking away.

Sokka looks to the ground and notices he dropped a paper. He picks it up, and hurries after the stranger. 

“Hey, you dropped this,” Sokka says, lightly grabbing his shoulder.

He can feel the tension in a split second and knows he made a mistake before anything bad has a chance to happen.

The boy grabs Sokka’s hand and in one swift movement, turns and kicks his legs out from under him.

He hits the ground, hard, and looks up at the boy. He can almost see remorse in his eyes as Sokka reaches the paper towards him, “Not bad, however your stance could use some work. If I really were a threat, I could easily take you right now.”

“You’re on the ground. Clearly prone. How could you possibly take me?” he says, taking the paper, obviously not getting Sokka’s humor.

“Nevermind,” he mumbles as he stands, “I’m Sokka, by the way.”  
He sticks his hand out to the older boy.

“Zuko” he replies hesitantly as he shakes his hand, “Sorry I knocked you down.”

Sokka smiles at him, “It’s no biggie, Zuko. I mean, I did run into you first.”  
No biggie? Of all the words he could have chosen he says “no biggie”? What was wrong with him?

After a moment of silence Zuko speaks, “You seem a little lost. What are you looking for?”

“Oh um, housing building four.” Sokka replies, mortified that Zuko picked up on just how clueless he was.

Zuko looks at him quizzically, “You’re a Junior?”

He nods in response, wondering if Zuko will also pick up on how embarrassed he was.

“Huh...I haven’t seen you around before. Did you transfer from Omashu?”

“No, I didn’t apply until this year…”

“Huh..” Zuko replies, not interested in Sokka’s life story.

“So...directions?” Sokka offers, not really wanting to get into awkward silence.

“Right! So its straight ahead, the second building on your right”

Sokka smiles at him, “Thanks. It was nice meeting you.”

“Mhmm” he replies, suddenly cold.

Sokka walks away, attempting to sneak a glance at Zuko when he feels he’s at a safe enough distance.  
But when he looks back, the boy is gone.


	2. Chapter Two

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Winter break is finally here and I get a chance to actually focus on my writing!
> 
> Thank you to everyone who is reading. It really means a lot to me :)
> 
> Enjoy the chapter

Sokka finally arrives at his room, nearly knocking on the door out of habit, before letting himself in.  
The room was...decent. A small bed on either side of the room, desks at the ends of them, facing the wall. It was what some people would describe as cozy.

It was clear his roommate had already arrived, and claimed a bed. Sokka tried to look over the belongings quickly, wanting to get a vibe before meeting the guy.

It didn’t seem like he had much, really just one backpack for all his shit.   
He wished he could pack that light, Katara had to haggle with him to get all of his things in this one, rather large, duffle bag.

Sokka sets the bag on his bed and sits, only now feeling the weight of the morning.   
If it were up to him, he would sleep right now and not wake up until classes started on Monday.

However, it was not up to him and he could already hear Katara nagging him about unpacking his unnecessary amount of things.  
Soon his bed was covered in the contents of his bag, his clothes already crumpled on one side, his sword and boomerang neatly placed on the other, with a variety of other things spread out in the middle.

“Woah,” exclaims a voice from behind him, “bring your whole house with you?”

Sokka jumps slightly and turns around. “No,” he smiles, “I left my dad there. He wouldn’t fit in my bag.”

The boy laughs and Sokka can feel something in him shift.  
What the hell was with him today?

“I’m Jet.” he says.

“Sokka. Nice to meet you.”

“Likewise,” he replies, sitting on his bed, “so, what’re you here for? Looking at you my guess would be waterbending but you can’t always judge a book by its cover”

“Oh, no. I’m here for sword fighting.” he gestures at the weapons stored at the end of his bed.

“You’re a non bender?” Jet questions, leaning towards him.

Sokka nods, “What’re you here for?”

Jet flashes him a smile, “Same thing as you, although I specialize in duel swords.”

He pulls a pair of swords out from under his bed and hands them to Sokka.

Sokka takes them, grinning.  
“I’ve always wanted to try duel swords! I had never gotten a chance back at the tribe since no one there knew how to use them. Well my dad tried learning for me while he was off for business but he never really got the chance,” he cuts himself off, realizing he’s rambling, and hands the swords back to Jet, “Anyways, they’re really nice. Well made..”  
‘Great one, Sokka. Fantastic.’ he thinks, inwardly rolling his eyes at himself.

Jet just gives him a look before putting them back under the bed, “Yeah, thanks.”

The silence sticks with them for a moment, Jet not having anything to say and Sokka worried about talking too much.

Sokka feels his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulls it out, thankful for the distraction.  
However, the gratefulness quickly turns to dread as he sees the missed messages from Katara, asking him where he was.  
He was late to orientation.

“Shit,” he mumbles as he stands, “I’ll be back later. I gotta go to the orientation thingy.”

“Oh. Well have fun with that,” Jet replies, completely unbothered, laying back on his bed.

“I’ll try,” he says and walks out of the room, praying to Tui and La that he remembers where he needs to go.

\-----------------

Sokka walks into a crowded room, every new student on campus sitting in a metal fold up chair. Spirits he hated those chairs.   
A faculty member was on stage, attempting to stall, and he realizes that he most definitely was not the last to arrive. He breathes a sigh of relief and starts to look for a place to sit.

Of course his first thought is to sit with Katara, but when he spots her in the crowd he sees she already has a small group of friends she’s talking to. A short girl with black hair sits on her right and...does that kid have tattoos? Sokka decides he’ll ask Katara about that later and goes back to surveying the crowd.  
Everyone in the room looked like a freshman and there was no way he was making small talk with a bunch of fourteen year olds who have yet to discover deodorant and other basic hygiene products. Plus he didn’t want to be the creepy Junior who hangs around the easy targets.

Eventually his eyes land on a girl who actually looks his own age and, after a moment of hyping himself up, he goes over to sit with her. 

“Spirits, the smell here makes me want to barf” he says, instantly regretting his opening line by the look the girl gives him.

“Excuse me?” she questions, eyeing him over.

“That came off wrong. Let me start over. Hi, I’m Sokka. Can I sit with you?”

She looks at him for another second before returning her attention to the stage, “Okay, Sokka. You can sit with me. If you promise not to mention puking again.”

He laughs and sits next to her.   
“You have a deal..” he pauses, realizing he doesn’t know her name.

“Suki” she replies.

“You have a deal, Suki.” he repeats with a smile.

She looks over at him again, knowing whatever Sokka has to say is probably more interesting than whatever the hell that guy was talking about, “So, what are you here for?”

“You make it sound like we’re in jail,” he says with a laugh. 

She rolls her eyes, although anyone could see the smile she’s trying to suppress, “Are you gonna answer the question?”

“Sword fighting,” he answers, wanting to go into it more but not wanting to bore her with the details, “You?”

“Martial arts,” she replies confidently, “and other various fighting styles. I’ve been trying to get in since they started allowing non-benders three years ago!”

Sokka smiles at her, “Congrats on making it in. They were idiots not to let you in when you first applied.”

Suki smiles back, “Thank you, Sokka. I mean as a non-bender you should understand my struggle with getting into this school. It's honestly ridiculous how blatant the favoritism is when it comes to bending.”

He just nods, deciding it would be best not to mention how he got in his first time applying. And how he got his acceptance letter months before Katara (which drove her absolutely mad). And how he almost didn’t even come…

“How’d you find out about the academy?” she asks, “They don’t exactly advertise to the likes of us.”

“Well my sister is a bender, but we actually found out through my girlfriend,” he hesitates slightly, wondering if he should correct himself (how would he even correct himself?), “she saw an ad online for it and told us we should apply”

“She sounds really sweet.” Suki replies with a smile.

Sokka nods, “I wouldn’t be here without her. She helped me study every day for the exam to get in”

“Hopefully you get good reception out here, I’m sure you’ll miss her while you’re gone. I know I’m gonna miss my village…”

He sighs and looks at the stage, “I already miss her more than anything in the world.”

Suki laughs and lightly punches his arm, “You’re so dramatic. You’ll see her again eventually, Sokka”

“I know,” he replies, hoping his sadness comes off as more theatrical than genuine, “I know.”

Suddenly the lights begin to dim and an introduction video starts to play.  
Sokka knows he should be paying attention. He knows this information will be important in helping him navigate the campus. Important in helping him understand this school in general

But his mind is focused on her now.  
And it’s taking all of his energy to keep from crying.


	3. Chapter Three

The room was bright and full of noise, lively conversation and laughter filling the small space between the four walls of Katara and Toph’s dorm.

Sokka sat on the floor next to Suki, enjoying one of Toph’s many stories about her earthbending career. In just the twenty minutes he’d spent with her he’d had his expectations flipped around about a million times. First learning she was blind, then learning she was an extremely talented bender, then learning her parents owned the whole fucking school...it was a lot to take in.

Then there was Aang. A first glance at him would make you think he was some hardcore, brutally commited, gang member. In reality he was a soft vegan monk who was deeply invested in his own culture and took every opportunity to educate others about it.  
It was pretty endearing.

“Hey Aang?” Suki asks as Toph finishes describing her final blows on some underground wrestler.

“Yeah?” he replies, grinning.

“I don’t want to be like...insensitive but, I felt like I should ask about the tattoos.”

“Oh!” he says cheerfully, “In my culture, the arrows are a mark of honor. You get them once you have mastered bending.”

“Then why are you here?” Sokka asks, only realizing how rude it must have sounded afterwards.  
Thankfully, Aang didn’t take it that way. Or if he did, he didn’t show it.

“Well, the monks wanted me to experience new cultures. They thought it might be good for me to meet other kids who didn’t grow up exactly like I did. I must be their favorite though,” he grins, “because I’m the only one they sent!”

Toph snorts, “Twinkletoes, it sounds like they wanted to get rid of you. If you were really their ‘favorite’ why send you to an academy half a world away?”

Aang opens his mouth to respond but shuts it. Honestly, Sokka felt bad for him. Toph did have a point..

“You don’t know that, Toph,” Katara defends, “They loved him enough to set him free. Let him make decisions on his own. It sounds to me like they really care about him.”

Sokka can’t help but feel a little protective of Katara when Aang smiles at her.  
No fourteen year old has ever smiled at another fourteen year old like that and just meant it as friends.

“Thanks, Katara.”

She smiles back at him and Sokka wants to barf.

“You’re welcome.”

A small moment of silence passes over everyone as Katara and Aang share a ‘moment’.  
Sokka was just thankful that of all boys here, Katara chose the bald headed religious one. 

“Sokka, you’re a non-bender, right?” Aang asks, finally breaking the mini staring contest with Katara.

He nods.

“What made you decide to come here with Katara? There’s plenty of other schools to choose from, right?”

Katara looks at Sokka and he knows this look as “you don’t have to tell them, Sokka”.  
He nods slightly and looks back at Aang.

“It’s kind of a long story, but basically I thought it looked like a decent school and I got to be near Katara.”

Suki glances at him and Sokka knows she’s going to be asking him why he didn’t mention his girlfriend to this group of people.  
Would it be too embarrassing to tell her she was made up?  
Would it be messed up to tell Suki his dead girlfriend was imaginary?

“You came all the way to Ba Sing Se because you didn’t want to be away from your sister? Aren’t you supposed to be some badass sword fighter?” Toph questions.

“I think it’s sweet,” Aang says before Sokka even gets a chance to reply.

“Hey, sorry I didn’t want my fourteen year old ‘never left the Southern Water Tribe’ sister coming to this huge city alone. Someone needs to be here to protect her.” 

Katara laughs, “Sokka, you couldn’t even pack your bags without me. If anyone needs the help, it's you!”

Sokka’s pride quickly fades into embarrassment as the whole room joins Katara in her laughter.  
He knows she’s right, but she didn’t have to say it.  
It's not his fault no one ever taught him how to pack! He never needed to know how to pack! He never went anywhere!

“Aw, Sokka had to have his mommy pack his bags for him? How sweet” Toph jokes.

And now both the siblings were quiet.  
Of course there was no way Toph could have known their mom was dead. There was no way she could have known that Katara filled the role as Sokka’s mother from a young age.  
There was no way she could have known Sokka can’t even picture his mother’s face anymore, his brain always, always replacing it with Katara’s.

Aang and Suki pick up on the tension when they see their faces and their laughs die down, leaving only Toph who stops after hearing that she’s the only one still going.

“What? Did I say something?” she asks, “It was just a joke.”

Sokka sighs, knowing he can’t be mad at her. It was just a joke and it would have been fine if it was about any other set of siblings.  
Katara, however, was clearly upset and it was clear she was going to have some sort of outburst.

Now was the time to intervene.

“Katara, let's go out in the hall for a minute,” Sokka offers as he stands.

Katara stands as well, stomping her way out of the room. He sighs once more and follows her, glad he got her out before a fight began.

“She didn’t mean it like that,” he begins, keeping his voice low, “It’s not like she had any way of knowing”

She crosses her arms, “She shouldn’t just assume what people have gone through, Sokka! I want an apology!”

“An apology for what? For not knowing our mom died? For making a harmless joke? Katara, you’re being ridiculous.”

“I’m being ridiculous? How can you say that? I’m allowed to be mad about an insensitive joke and I’m not going to step down. The world isn’t perfect, and pretending it is won't bring Mom back and it won't bring Yue back either!” 

They look at each other for a moment, Sokka trying to understand what she just said and Katara wondering why she said it.

“I think I’m going to go back to my dorm,” Sokka whispers, lowering his eyes.

“Sokka, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it!” she rushes out, the words mushing together. 

“I’ll see you later, Katara. Tell Suki to text me,” he says as he walks away from the dorm, leaving Katara in the hall alone.

\-----------------

Sokka wandered the streets of Ba Sing Se, not wanting to risk getting into an argument with his passive aggressive roommate.  
His legs started moving in one direction and he stuck to it, letting himself get lost in thought, trusting that he’d be able to find his way back once he decided to turn around.

However, it was getting close to lunch and Sokka was most definitely hungry after speed walking spirits knows how far.

After a little bit of searching, he came across a quaint little tea shop which appeared to sell a various assortment of soups and desserts.  
A.K.A the perfect place to get some lunch.

Sokka steps into the restaurant and sits himself, like the sign at the front says, and waits for his order to be taken.  
He pulls out his phone, seeing several missed calls from Katara and lots of unread texts.  
He sighs and starts going through them, being careful not to click on the notification, alerting Katara that he was, indeed, reading these messages.

“Welcome to The Jasmine Dragon,” says an oddly familiar voice, “can I take your order?”

He looks up at the boy and is shocked to see Zuko standing before him.  
Zuko’s face flushes slightly upon recognition and Sokka can’t help but smile at him.

“Hey, Zuko, right? It’s nice to see you again. Wouldn’t have expected you to be working this far away from campus.”

“Uh, yeah my uncle owns this place and,” he shakes his head slightly, as if resetting himself, and sighs, “Do you know what you want?”

“Oh, no, sorry. I haven’t really looked at the menu...yet.” Sokka says, picking at his fingers under the table, a nervous habit Katara has tried for years to get him to break.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Zuko replies, trying his absolute best to look annoyed, before walking away.

Sokka groans quietly and sees one last text from Katara before shutting off his phone and putting it back in his pocket.

He gently picks the menu off the table and reads the words without really taking them in, his mind still focused on Zuko.  
His calm demeanor in the shop. His blush. The way his uniform complimented his eyes.

Tui and La, what’s gotten into him lately?

Before he could ponder an answer Zuko had returned to take his order, and Sokka realized he still had no idea what he wanted.  
So naturally he says the first words he sees on the menu.

“The fire flake soup?” Zuko repeats, making sure he heard him correctly.

Sokka nods confidently, “Yeah, yeah, that’s right. Fire flake soup, and don’t be stingy on the fire flakes.”

Zuko smiles and Sokka just about melts.

“Alright, I’ll go put that in for you. And I’ll make sure it's extra spicy.”

And that’s when Sokka knew he had made a terrible mistake.


	4. Chapter Four

The locker slammed against Sokka’s back, pain surging up his shoulder.

The locker room quickly emptied out, leaving only Sokka and his attacker.

“What the hell, man?” he says, looking up at the boy. Looking up at Zuko.

“No one beats me. No one.” Zuko seathes, his hands burning against Sokka’s skin.

“What was I supposed to do? Let you win?”

His hands press against him harder, the heat nearing painful, “You must have cheated. There’s no way I was defeated by some non-bender from the Southern Water Tribe.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, Zuko!” Sokka says, tears stinging the edges of his eyes, “I can’t just take it back!”

Suddenly a voice calls from outside, “C’mon, Zuzu. We have important places to be and I need to make room in my schedule to call Father about this..incident”

Zuko lets go of Sokka, making eye contact with him for a brief moment, before quickly walking out of the room to meet whoever was waiting for him outside.

Sokka stands, brushing himself off, hoping the burning sensation will soon leave his arms.

He knew Zuko was hot headed. The first time he met him, he kicked his feet out from under him, but Sokka just wrote that off as some weird defense mechanism. This was different. This was a deliberate attack just because he was a sore loser.   
The guy has gone to the school since his Freshman year, there was no way that was his first time losing. 

Sokka rolls up his sleeve, cringing at the imprint Zuko had left on him.  
Zuko was violent. Zuko was dangerous. Zuko should not be trusted.

And yet...Sokka still couldn’t bring himself to hate him.

He saw the fear in his eyes when that girl called him from the hall. He could feel it in the air as they made eye contact.  
There was something about Zuko Sokka felt drawn to. Something hidden deep inside

And he was determined to find it.

\----------

“I’ve never liked that asshole,” Jet says, bringing a washcloth to Sokka’s arm, “he thinks he’s so important.”

Sokka flinches slightly as the cold water touches his skin, “I’ve talked to him before and he was fine, I don’t know why he freaked out today.”

Jet turns off the water in their sink and looks at him, “He’s crazy, Sokka. His whole family is from what I’ve seen. Honestly, you should just stay away from him. I don’t want you getting a scar like his.”

“I don’t think he’s crazy. He just has a temper.”

“Why are you trying to defend him? Sokka, he burned your arms because you beat him during placement tests. That’s fucking insane.”

Sokka sighs, “I guess you have a point...I just think there’s more to him.”

“Well, there’s not.” he replies, coldly.

“How can you be so sure?”

“Just trust me on this one, Sokka. Zuko is crazy and heartless and you’re better off without him.”

“I don’t remember needing your permission to talk to people, Jet.” Sokka retorts.

He scoffs, “And I’m not forbidding you from doing whatever the hell you want! I just know what goes on at this school and Zuko is not someone you want to get involved with.”

Sokka decides it would be best to just shut up now, knowing Jet wouldn’t understand. And why would he? He knew he would never be able to explain to anyone how he felt around Zuko. How he was convinced there was something sweet beneath his rude exterior.

Jet steps away from him, “I trust you can take care of your own arms now?”

Sokka nods, “Yeah, I got it.”

“Sweet. I’m gonna head out, I’ll be back later,” he replies, grabbing his coat.

“Where are you going?” Sokka asks, suddenly worried about being alone.

“Just to a little get together of sorts. I can’t imagine it would be something you would enjoy.” he teases. 

“Would you mind if I invited Suki over?”

Jet laughs, “Whatever you want. Just make sure you leave a sock on the door so I don’t walk in on anything. Good luck.”

Sokka opens his mouth to correct him but before he can get the words out Jet is gone.

He sits on his bed with the full intent to call Suki, but as soon as he lays back he closes his eyes and quickly falls asleep.


	5. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this should have a bit of a warning before it
> 
> There is some drinking and non-con kissing in this chapter.
> 
> Thank you for reading!

“So, you got any plans for the weekend?” Katara asks, looking over at her brother as they make their way to the housing buildings.

After about three weeks of classes, Sokka had finally discovered a path that allowed him to intercept Katara at the end of the day, and it was only about seven minutes out of the way (6.839, he had done the math)

“I think I’m gonna go with Jet to this little get together he was telling me about. I guess there’s this festival in town and him and a few other people celebrate it at one of their houses every year.” Sokka replies, “Jet sounded really excited about it.”

Katara gives him a confused look before realization dawns on her, “Oh! Your roommate! Sorry, I completely forgot who Jet was, you never bring him around.”

Sokka shrugs, “I’ve invited him, he’s just a busy guy.”

“Mmmhm,” she hums, sounding unconvinced.

“Katara, he’s allowed to have a life. Look, I’ll try to get him to come to our gathering on Sunday. Maybe with a few days notice he can show.”

“Fine, but text me if he says he can make it. I’ll have to make more food for an extra person.” Katara replies, pulling out her phone to make note of this possible change in plans.

“I still don’t see why you’re insisting on cooking. I don’t think Dad sent us that money so you can cook some fancy meal for everyone. Can’t we just order a pizza or something?” 

“It’s important to me that our friends experience at least a little bit of our culture, Sokka. Besides, don’t you miss Water Tribe food, even a little bit?”

Sokka considers this for a moment. The food in Ba Sing Se was great (besides that fire flake soup he had tried his first week there) but nothing could compare to Gran Gran’s home cooking, or the food at the diner in town…

“Yeah, I guess it would be nice to have a little taste of home.”

Katara grins at him, “Wouldn’t it? Oh! And Aang said next time he would cook for us! Some real authentic Air Nomad cuisine! Isn’t that amazing?”

Sokka makes a face at her, “Katara, all they eat is tofu and like...rice. It sounds miserable.”

Katara punches his arm, “It sounds nice and you’re gonna eat every last thing he makes.”

Sokka groans and rubs where she hit him, thankfully his burn healed weeks ago or that would have hurt considerably more.

She rolls her eyes at him, “Sokka I didn’t even hit you that hard.”

“I think the pain of your fist mixed with the pain of having to eat vegetarian and now my arm is irreparably damaged,” he jokes.

“Very funny,” Katara deadpans, “I don’t know how you do it.”

“It's a gift,” he replies with a teasing smile, “you were blessed with bending, I was blessed with comedic timing. I think we can all agree who got the short end of the stick.”

“They do say save the best for last,” she goads.

Sokka rolls his eyes and stops walking, realizing they had almost passed Katara’s building.

“Have fun at your little party. Don’t do anything stupid,” she advises.

“I won’t, I won’t. Enjoy shopping with Aang. Don’t do anything stupid.”

Katara laughs and walks into her building, waving to him as she goes.

\----------------------

Sokka stands in front of the mirror, finally satisfied with his outfit choice.

“You’re going like that?” Jet asks as he walks into the room

Sokka deflates a little and looks over at him, “Yeah? Why?”

Jet sighs.  
“Come here,” he demands, grabbing his wrist and pulling him over to his bed, pushing him onto it.

“First of all, you need to let your hair down,” he says, gently pulling the hair tie out of his ponytail, running his hands through it until it lays flat, “It looks so much better like this.”

Sokka wants to object but he’s too focused on the feeling of Jet’s hands on him.

“Okay, stand up.”

He obeys, rising from the bed.

Jet studies him for a second before grabbing the bottom of his shirt, untucking half of it, “You can’t have the whole thing tucked, Sokka. It makes you look like a nerd.”

Sokka flushes with both shock from the touch and embarrassment from the comment.

“I did that on purpose,” he defends, reaching for the end of his shirt.

Jet grabs his hand before he can tuck it back in, “Trust me, leave it.”

“Fine,” he sighs, knowing they probably wouldn’t leave until Jet got his way.

“Thank you,” he says with a smile, “Shall we get going?”

“If I look fine now,” Sokka replies, hoping Jet can hear the annoyance in his voice.

Jet eyes him over once more and Sokka’s face heats again, “Looks good to me. I’ll just grab my jacket and we’ll leave.”

Sokka nods and walks towards the door, praying to Tui and La that tonight will be as enjoyable as he had hoped.

\-------------------

“I’m going outside,” Sokka stumbles, grabbing Jet’s arm for support.

Jet looks at him, “I’ll go with you. Wouldn’t want the newbie wandering off into the night.”

Sokka lets Jet lead the way to the back porch, the loud noises and various unpleasant smells making him nauseous. 

When they finally make it outside, Sokka feels as if a weight has been lifted off his chest, the cool breeze drying the sweat on the back of his neck.

This whole night was a disaster. Sokka thought a “little get together” meant a small group of friends playing video games together, not 50 people in a cramped house drinking whatever alcohol they could find.   
At first he tried denying the drinks offered to him, but after some convincing from Jet he had a drink. Then another. And another. And all of a sudden it all caught up to him and he felt sick and scared and just wanted to find somewhere to lay down.

Sokka leans against the wooden railing, his head aimed down at the flower bed below him, hoping that this wave of nausea would soon pass like the rest had. 

“Looking a little green there,” Jet jokes, leaning his back against the rail next to him.

“I want to go home, Jet,” Sokka mumbles, looking over at him.

He rolls his eyes, “The party’s hardly started! Lets just take a minute to breathe and then we’ll head back in. It's way too early to head back to the room.”

“No. I want to go home. Back to the South Pole. I shouldn’t be here.” he corrects, running a hand through his hair.

“What do you mean? Of course you should be here! You got in, just like the rest of us.” 

Sokka shakes his head, “You wouldn’t understand.”

“I probably wouldn’t. Don’t see how that makes a difference.” 

“I only got in because of my girlfriend. If she didn’t make me study, make me train...there’s no way I would be here right now.”

“Good for her. You’ll have to give her a great big hug the next time you see her,” Jet replies, trying to end the conversation and head back in.

“She’s dead, Jet,” Sokka says, tears blurring his vision, “She died and I still came and I shouldn’t be here. It's not right for me to be here without her.”

“I’m sure she’d want you to be here, Sokka.” he responds, his voice nearly monotone.

“And what if she wouldn’t? I didn’t even give her a real goodbye..”   
The words come out strained, his throat tight from his efforts not to cry.

“Tui and La, Sokka. If I knew you were gonna be an emotional drunk. I wouldn’t have let you drink,” Jet teases, grabbing his hand.

Sokka looks up at him, his head spinning.

“We came here to have fun, right?” he asks, pulling Sokka away from the railing, forcing him to use his arm to balance.

Sokka nods slightly, trying to regain his grip on reality.

“I can show you a fun time,” Jet whispers, pushing Sokka’s back against the railing, their faces inches from each other.

“I want to go home, Jet” Sokka reiterates, sounding more like a frightened child than a drunk teen.

Their eyes meet for a moment, Sokka’s glazy and filled with tears, Jet’s awake and filled with passion, before Jet closes the gap between them.

At first Sokka welcomes the kiss. He missed being touched.  
Being loved.

But Jet wasn’t Yue.

Sokka shoves Jet back, a new surge of energy flowing through him as adrenaline floods his body.

Jet stares back at him, wide eyed, “You know you liked it, asshole.”

“But I didn’t want it, Jet!” Sokka yells, his fear turning to anger, “I didn’t want any of this!”

“Calm down, someone’s gonna hear you.” he says, stepping closer to him.

Sokka presses against the railing harder, trying to put more distance between him and Jet.

“I’m leaving.”

“Sokka you shouldn’t go alone, I don’t want you getting lost or something.” 

“I would rather get lost than spend any more time with you.” Sokka says, walking off the porch.

He shoves his hands in his pockets and keeps walking, ignoring Jet’s pleads. He wouldn’t get lost. Even drunk he knew this city like the back of his hand after all those nights he’d spent pouring over maps when he was too awake to sleep.

He knew he couldn’t go back to his dorm, Jet would eventually show up and Sokka knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep.  
So he would do the next best thing.

With a new sense of liveliness and urgency, Sokka set his internal GPS for Katara’s dorm.

\----------------

Katara is woken up by the sound of knocking at her door. Her first instinct is to check the bed next to her for her roommate before she remembered she was visiting her parents until Sunday.

Another knock echoes throughout the room and Katara grabs the water bottle by her bed, unscrewing the cap, before walking to the door.

She slowly opens it, trying to get a view of who was there before they had a view of her.

She groans when she sees that its her brother standing there, obviously drunk and obviously wasting her time.

Katara grabs his arm and pulls him inside, shutting the door behind him.

“Sokka what the hell? You scared me half to death! You can’t just show up to my room drunk at two in the morning, what’s wrong with you?” she growls, her voice still gravely from sleep.

“I..” Sokka begins, making eye contact with Katara, before bursting into tears.

Katara’s anger quickly turns into worry as she wraps her arms around her brother, trying to comfort him.

“Sokka what happened? Are you okay?” she asks, desperate for some kind of response besides tears.

Sokka never cries. It was honestly one of the most worrying things about him.   
Katara will never forget the lifeless look in his eyes at Yue’s funeral. The way he just...stood there. Even she was sobbing but Sokka wouldn’t. 

That’s why this terrified her so badly. What happened to him?

“I’m sorry,” Sokka says through his tears, “I didn’t know where to go.”

“You can always come to me, Sokka. I’m always here.” she reassures, hugging him tighter, “Always.”

Eventually Sokka’s sobs calm, the room falling silent as the siblings stand holding each other.

“You can sleep here tonight,” Katara whispers, “Toph won’t be home until Sunday.”

“Thank you,” Sokka whispers back, pulling away from her.

“There’s face wipes in the bathroom, okay? I’ll see if I have something you can change into.”

Sokka nods and walks into the bathroom, flipping on the light.

Katara opens her drawer to look for some oversized shirt and sweatpants Sokka can borrow.

“Hey Katara?” Sokka calls from the bathroom.

“Yeah?” she answers, looking over at him.

“I love you.”

Katara smiles, “I love you too.”


	6. Chapter Six

“And then I’ll be home. Safe and sound,” Yue finishes, looking over at Sokka.

Sokka grabs her hand and smiles at her, not really minding how his back hurt from laying on the hard ground. He was with her and she could take any amount of his pain away in an instant.

“I can’t wait,” he replies, “But there is one thing I’m worried about..”

Yue’s face falls, “Sokka..”

“Will you still love me with a new heart?”

She hesitates for a moment, processing the question, before exploding with laughter. Her warmth fills the room as Sokka pulls her closer, hugging her to his chest.

She looks up at him, catching her breath for a moment, reaching her hand up to caress his cheek.

“I could get a thousand new hearts, Sokka, and I’d love you with each one.”

\---------------------

Sokka wakes with a start, his mind desperately clinging to his dream. He touches a hand to his cheek, swearing he could still feel Yue’s soft skin on his.

He looks over at Katara who is still sound asleep and decides it would be best not to wake her. This was already the second night he was sleeping in her room, he didn’t want to cause her any more problems.  
So instead he quietly gets out of bed and puts on his shoes. He just needed to get some fresh air then he’d be back. 

Sokka walks out of the building, the silence of the night doing nothing to quiet his mind.  
A light breeze picks up and he regrets not bringing a jacket, resorting to wrapping his arms around himself as he tries to find a nice place to sit down.

Eventually, he reaches a small square in the middle of the campus. A fountain sits at the center, a statue of a flying pig resting proudly on top.  
Sokka had often suggested to Katara that they have a picnic here but she had never been up for it and now it was getting too cold for the rest of the group to sit outside and eat.

As beautiful as it was during the day, it was even more stunning at night. The moonlight danced off the water in the fountain, the lights surrounding the square adding an extra layer of tranquility to the area.

Sokka sits on one of the many benches lining the square, hoping to empty his mind a bit.  
Instead he meets eyes with someone sitting across the square from him.

Zuko.

With a sudden surge of boldness, Sokka stands and walks over to him, “Hey, you alright?”

Zuko stares up at him for a second, “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. What are you doing out here?”

“I could ask the same to you.” 

“Well I asked first,” he replies, crossing his arms over his chest.

Sokka sighs, “Do you really care why I’m out here?”

Zuko looks him over, as if considering this, before replying, “Yeah, I actually do.”

‘Well, that backfired,’ Sokka thinks to himself as he takes a seat next to Zuko.

“I had a...dream,” he eventually says, deciding that was the most truthful he could be without completely exposing himself.

Zuko scoffs, “A dream?”

Sokka nods and looks over at him, “Yes. A dream. Your turn.”

“Couldn’t sleep,” he quickly answers, looking away from Sokka.

“Oh...do you want to talk about it?” Sokka offers, “I mean we don’t really know each other but sometimes talking to a stranger can help..”

Sokka waits for an answer, each second of silence feeling like a minute.

“Sokka I…” he begins, “Why are you talking to me?”

“So we wouldn’t have to stare at each other awkwardly from across the square,” Sokka jokes

“Sokka, I’m serious. I’ve been nothing but terrible to you. Why do you keep giving me second chances?”

“I don’t know...I guess I just like to believe that there’s good in people. And I guess I was right about you seeing as you feel bad about it.”

Zuko looks over at him, “I’m really sorry about all the shit I’ve done...I’m trying to be better but it’s so hard sometimes.”

Sokka laughs, sounding more sad than he means it to, “Trust me, Zuko, I’ve met worse people than you.”

“I seriously doubt that, Sokka,” he replies, looking away again.

After a moment of hesitation, Sokka sighs, “I don’t normally tell people about this but...my mom passed when I was a kid. The man who killed her, he’s a worse person than you. My dad’s boss who wouldn’t give him time off to grieve with his children, he’s a worse person than you. The cops who did fuck all to find the guy who killed her are worse people than you. You tripping me is nothing, really.”

Zuko looks over at him, and hesitantly puts a hand on his shoulder, “I’m really sorry to hear that. I um...I also lost my mom when I was young so I guess I kind of know that feeling.”

Sokka puts his hand on Zuko’s, suddenly aware of how cold he was.

“Spirits, Sokka, you’re freezing,” Zuko says before Sokka can get a chance to reply.

“I’m alright, really.”

“Let me walk you back to your dorm,” he says, standing up.

“Oh um...I’m kinda in a bit of an awkward situation with my roommate right now…” he replies as he stands, “I’m staying at my sister’s for the weekend but I’m not sure if I’m really ready to go back.”

“Well,” Zuko begins hesitantly, “You could come back to my dorm if you want.”

“Your roommate won’t mind?” Sokka asks, suddenly wanting an excuse not to go.

“I don’t have a roommate,” Zuko replies, “And I don’t really want to explain why.”

Sokka just smiles at him, showing he has no further questions, “Alright then, lead the way.”

\------------------

Sokka slowly opens his eyes, his brain catching up with the real world.  
After a second he realizes what had awakened him, his phone buzzing in his pocket.

He sits up groggily and takes his phone out, intending to decline the call and go back to sleep.  
That is until he sees who’s calling.

“Hello?” he asks, rubbing his eyes.

“Tui and La, Sokka! I was worried sick about you! Everyone is here already and we’ve all tried calling you and you weren’t answering and...where the fuck are you?” Katara rushes out.

Sokka blinks a few times before last night finally comes to him. Spirits, he was in Zuko’s dorm.

“Sokka?” she asks again, her voice strained with worry.

“Yeah, yeah, sorry. I’m on my way. I’ll be there five minutes tops.” he replies, getting out of bed.

“Okay be safe. I love you. Never do that to me again.”

“I love you too, Katara,” he says before hanging up.

Zuko opens his eyes and looks up at him and Sokka feels bad for waking him with his phone call.

“Hey I need to go, I have this lunch thing with my sister.”

Zuko sits up, “No problem...Sokka?”

“Yeah?” he answers as he puts his shoes on.

“Can you maybe not tell people you were here? I just don’t want it to get back to my sister..”

Sokka prays Zuko can’t see the hurt through his smile, “Yeah, that’s no problem. I’ll see you around, Zuko.”

Sokka doesn’t wait for a reply as he walks out the door, leaving last night behind him.


End file.
